Bergen County Executive Donovan returns to work

Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan returned to an abbreviated work schedule Monday, slightly more than five weeks after she was hospitalized for intense back pain.

A cheering crowd of about 60 county employees greeted Donovan amid balloons and “Welcome Back” signs in the lobby of the County Administration Building at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack

“It’s very nice to be back,” Donovan told the crowd. She alluded to rumors in recent weeks that her condition was far worse.

“All the rumors I heard about me being on my death bed,” she said. “For those of you who are disappointed....” she nodded her head twice as the crowd broke into laughter.

“Thank you all for you kindness, your prayers, your cards,” Donovan added. “Thank you all for doing so well to keep the county running. I paid attention every single day to what was going on. I know all of you worked very, very hard.”

Walking with a cane, Donovan spoke briefly with several well-wishers before taking the elevator to her office.

Donovan, a Republican came back to work at a time when the county has been embroiled in a political debate over whether to relax some of the restrictions imposed on political campaign contributions by the county’s pay-to-play law.

While she was gone, a bipartisan and potentially veto-proof majority of six freeholders introduced a revised ordinance that would allow no-bid contractors doing business with the county to contribute up to $20,000 per year to any county political party.

Critics of the existing law contend it is susceptible to a legal challenge on constitutional grounds because it tries to limit spending on federal, state and municipal elections.

Donovan vowed to veto to revised ordinance, which prompted the four Democratic freeholders last week to offer lowering the limit on party contributions down to $2,600 per year if she would approve the rest of the ordinance. She refused and promised to veto the measure if it passes.

If the Democrats lower the limit and the measure were to pass along party lines, the 4-3 Democratic majority would lack the five votes needed to override any veto.

The final vote on the ordinance had been scheduled for Wednesday’s freeholder meeting. However the ordinance does not appear on the meeting agenda posted Monday on the county website.

“We’re still trying to see where we can reach agreement,” Freeholder Chairman David Ganz said, adding that it was possible that the issue could still come up for a vote.

Donovan also returns just as the freeholders are expected to introduce their proposed county budget next week, in response to the $505 million budget she introduced in January.

The 60-year-old county executive was hospitalized on March 22 after doctors discovered that she had multiple stress fractures to her back.

She was transferred a few days later from Hackensack University Medical Center to Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, N.Y. where she underwent rehabilitation. She returned home from there on Friday.

Donovan said she will only be working part-time for the next 6-8 weeks while she continues to undergo physical therapy on an outpatient basis as well as treatment for osteoporosis. She said plans to share some of the workload with Jeanne Baratta, her chief of staff and County Administrator Ed Trawinski, who had been serving as acting county executive until Monday.